“REIGN IN YOUR RED DESTROYERS” – IMF WARNS THE ANC REGIME IN SOUTH AFRICA whitenationnetwork/paper/archives/14650 IMF urges SA to rein in trade unions Article by: White Nation correspondent- Western Cape October 06 2013 Trade unions need to take it easy. That is the advice given in an International Monetary Fund report on South Africa released yesterday. The report recommends lower wage demands and supports the use of labour brokers. It urges the government to move more quickly in implementing its National Development Plan and massive infrastructure spending proposals. Noting that South Africa’s economic growth is lower than that of other emerging countries, and is too low to cut unemployment, the IMF suggests “a social bargain” that would pull together trade unions, business and the government. It urges “commitments to wage restraint” by trade unions. Increases of as much as 100% were demanded this year in the gold mining sector. As the report was released, workers in the automotive components industry were past the three-week mark in their strike for higher wages. They are demanding an increase of more than 10% and have paralysed vehicle manufacturing. Production at the world’s biggest platinum mining company, Anglo Platinum, has been disrupted. Members of the Association for Mineworkers and Construction Union have been on strike since Friday. At South African Breweries, workers downed tools on Monday. The Food and Allied Workers’ Union is demanding a 9.5% increase. The IMF report flags “escalating labour tensions” as “a key domestic risk”. The IMF says that more jobs would be created if economic growth were stronger and the labour market “more flexible”.”Unemployment remains stubbornly above 20%, or more than 30% when including those who have given up looking for a job. Youth unemployment is even higher at more than 50%,” says the report. The IMF points to recent reforms in Mexico and suggests that South Africa should do something similar to loosen the hold of trade unions on the labour market. This hold, it said, has “produced an insider-outsider system that creates too few jobs and stifles growth”. Compared to its peers, South Africa has been falling behind. “Since 2009, South Africa’s growth has averaged 3% compared with 5% for emerging markets and 4% for commodity exporters,” says the report. The IMF expects South Africa’s growth to slow to 2%. It urges the government to “resist” a proposal to restrict the use of labour brokers , noting that temporary employment was responsible for a large share of employment growth in recent years. Trade union federation Cosatu has been vocal in its campaign to get labour brokers banned. The Treasury yesterday skirted around responding to calls for comprehensive reform of the labour market. It claimed that the issues raised by the IMF were already part of government policies and programmes. At its lekgotla in August, the cabinet agreed on a number of measures aimed at reigniting economic growth. These measures are in part informed by the recognition that the economy can no longer rely heavily on the global economy to reignite growth and create jobs for the millions of unemployed South Africans,” said the Treasury. It said “actions are being taken to improve labour relations in key sectors”. A monthly report by Nedbank yesterday flagged labour issues. “The economy faces new challenges on the legislative and labour fronts, which are likely to stifle new investment, and reduce production and export capacity in the years ahead, constraining our ability to capitalise on a weaker rand.” The IMF sees South Africa as more susceptible to shocks. “In recent years, South Africa’s vulnerabilities [to adverse economic conditions] have increased considerably.” SOURCE
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 07:10:11 +0000
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